Cosplaying
by GamblingDementor
Summary: 30 day OTP challenge: Day seven, your OTP cosplaying. Varrick and Zhu Li, Love amongst the Dragons, Huan Beifong. What else?


The mask was heavy on Zhu Li's head, it weighed on her neck and pulled on her hair. The costume itself was soft, beautiful, and tailored just to her size so it suited her perfectly, but really, she could have done without the mask. Her glasses couldn't fit under it so she'd had to remove them, so she could barely see Varrick, though he was right in front of her. She thought her title did not suit her that well after all. The Dragon Empress? Pffft, the Blind Empress maybe. Or the Blind Dragon.

They did say that love was blind and Zhu Li had to be very much in love with Varrick right now. How else could she explain why she had accepted this unbelievably weird idea? A mover adaptation of an antique play. And not even directed by Varrick himself but by the ever so capricious Huan Beifong. Why such a depressing young man would choose to work on a story about thriving love, she could not say. All she knew was that Varrick had offered their acting the parts of the Dragons to Huan and that here she was, dressed as a dragon and that the mask was too heavy.Another thing bothering her was that Varrick was wearing a mask as well. The costumes were so beautiful that it was a shame not to see his gorgeous face as well. She liked pretty things together.  
>"Though I was trapped in the body of a mortal, you willingly gave me your heart!" He proclaimed in that deep voice of his that gave her shivers when he used it in private. "I cannot help but give you mine in return!"<br>"Only with your glory hidden in false form could you finally recognize my devotion!" She replied and took his hands in hers, as per the script.Through the slices of these horrible masks, their eyes met and suddenly Zhu Li had no problem believing that she was facing the Dragon Emperor himself. There was a warmth in his gaze that made it all worth it somehow. No, it wasn't only warmth, it was heat. His eyes were burning with love that had so much fierceness that she wouldn't have been surprised if he just started breathing fire right now.  
>"How about we do this thing without the masks? I miss your pretty face." He whispered so low that only she could hear his words.<br>She nodded slightly and just as soon as she did, he ripped the mask off his face, the one off hers, and crashed their lips together.Kissing Varrick was something she would never get tired of. After two months of marriage, he found every occasion to kiss her, in any situation, at any time. Right now, on camera, they were actually supposed to kiss, but through the masks, which wasn't so much kissing as clashing pieces of wood together. What they were doing was a lot more fiery than that. Where this fire had come from, she did not know, but she knew that it was consuming the both of them now. But before she could indulge in the feel of his lips, his tongue, even his teeth (she definitely liked that about Dragon Varrick), they were interrupted.  
>"What on earth are you two doing?!"<br>Varrick nibbled at her lips teasingly before he pulled away, as if giving her a taste for later, and his beautiful blue eyes were still glowing like embers. He winked at her before they turned to a confused Huan.  
>"You were supposed to keep the masks on! This is a tragic romance in ancient Fire Nation style, they wore masks!"<p><p>

Varrick took a few steps towards the director, his hand on his hip.  
>"Hey, kid, let me teach you a thing or two about imagivation!"<br>"Did you just mispronounce imagination?"  
>Varrick completely ignored him.<br>"You know, I'm just trying to act in character here!"  
>"Ugh, I told you a thousand times not to act like your character. You have to be your character."<br>"Well, I'm the Dragon Emperor and I'm telling you that when I kiss my beautiful love, I don't do it through masks!"  
>Huan rubbed his chin, deep in thought.<br>"Mmh... What do you think, Zhu Li?"  
>Taken by surprise, she said the first thing that came to her mind.<br>"Erm, I think that the Dragons removing their masks would make for good... er... symbolism?"

How silly could she be just to get to kiss Varrick in any circumstances. Maybe it was what they called the honeymoon phase.  
>"That's... actually brilliant! Of course you would remove your masks, you're showing each other your true identity... It makes perfect sense."<p>

"You're the brightest wife I could have wished for, dear," Varrick told her, low enough that no one would hear them.

"Okay, okay, next take I want you both to remove the masks before the kiss."

Zhu Li could not hide her smile even when the cameras started rolling.


End file.
